Of Magic and Mayhem
by Sarsarwashere
Summary: Lucy has a secret that she has told very few. This secret gives her great power, but it also causes her great pain. As a result of her secret her family was killed and her happiness shattered. What will happen when a figure from this gruesome past comes back and has a new target, Fairy Tail?
1. The Things That Haunt Us (part 1)

**Chapter 1: The Things That Haunt Us (part 1)**

Since the beginning of time, there has been magic in this world. It has always been there and always will be there. Though this magic can be manipulated by few chosen people, it has a will of it's own. All magic was born from four elements: Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. These elements all had physical manifestations, but as time past and things changed they grew bored of their physical forms. They soon decided to abandon their bodies in order to become one with the magic they controlled, but before they did this each had a child.

The first-born was the son of Fire. This child's name was Fuegar. He had bright red hair that could easily be mistaken for flames and charcoal eyes that burned with a fire hidden deep within his very soul. The second born was the daughter of Earth, Rosella. She was a true beauty with long black hair that flowers always found their way into, and bright emerald eyes who's color could rival the most valuable gem. The third born was the son of Water, Oceanus. His dark navy colored hair was a deeper color than the sea itself and his light blue eyes almost seemed to freeze the soul of whoever looked in them. Finally, the youngest child was the daughter of air, Aria. She was stunning. Her golden hair rivaled the brilliance of the sun itself and her blue eyes glowed with the same brightness of a clear summer sky.

These four children were the light of the world and the only ones their parents trusted with their ultimate power. They were known as the Elementailia, the regents of the elements and the rulers of magic. They were the light, but as we all know, light is not the only side of magic. At the same time that these children were born into this world a son of darkness was also born. His name was Zeref. He was the manifestation of the world's darkness.

The elements knew of this child and also knew that he would pose a threat to the safety of their own children. So, they turned to the four dragon kings. They asked these four dragons to watch over and protect their children. They also asked them to train children of their own in the ways of the dragon. This magic that the children would be taught would come to be known as dragon slayer magic. These dragon slayers would form a team and be known as the dragon knights, the guardians of the Elementailia. The dragons agreed to help their rulers and true to their words each trained their first children. The king of the fire dragons trained Leven, the fire dragon slayer. The king of earth dragons trained the iron dragon slayer, Kane. The king of water dragons trained Marina, the water dragon slayer. Finally, the queen of the air dragons trained Clara, the sky dragon slayer.

Time passed slowly after the elements abandoned their physical bodies and their children had frown older. The human race had begun to form towns and slowly but surly were discovering magic. Around this time Aria and Leven met and fell in love. Unfortunately their time together was cut short by the evils of the dark mage Zeref, but before they were separated by death they made a promise to one another that no matter how long it took, they would find each other and fall in love all over again.

Despite the great loss the other children of the elements felt over the death of their younger sibling, the Elementailia continued on. Once one of the members had died the oldest surviving member inherited their magical abilities. This member was also the one whose children would become the new Elementailia, and so it went. This continued for hundreds of thousands of years, until we reach the present and find ourselves in the beautiful city of Magnolia.

* * *

**Lucy POV:**

_I herd the sound of those familiar voices before I saw their sources. The scene before me began to appear, flowing out from the backs of three people. My family and I walked along a path that wound it's way through a field of wild flowers. Their voices drifted to me and I could tell that Peter and Edmond were fighting as per usual. Ophelia, who had given up trying to stop our boisterous brothers, turned to me._

_"Lucy, hurry up. You are going to be left behind." She said._

_"I'm coming!" I called. _

_The next thing I knew the people in front of me were fading away. I picked up my pace and sprinted toward where they had been. I screamed, "Don't leave me!"_

I bolted upright crying and screaming. Natsu, who at some point in the night had broken into my house and was now sleeping in my bed beside me, shot up next to me. He was drowsily looking around my room searching for any potential danger. When he was finished and found nothing he turned to me and opened his mouth as if to say something. He paused as he saw the tears flowing down my face. The moon shone through my wind at just the right angle so that I could see his face and I saw the worry in his eyes as his right hand reached up and cupped my cheek.

"What happened Lucy?" He said as he began to wipe away my tears.

"I just had a dream about someone important to me." I said as I covered his hand with mine.

At this moment I was grateful that Natsu had this bad habit of sneaking into bed with me. His presence comforted me. Natsu always was able to calm me down when things were tough. As if sensing my need for comfort, Natsu moved his left hand to my waist and his right hand to my shoulders. He pulled me closer to him so that my head was resting in the crook of his neck. I slowly wound my arms around his body as he pulled me down so that we were lying on the bed again. Natsu removed his hand from my waist and pulled the comforter up so that my shoulders were covered and placed his hand back on my waist.

"Don't worry Lucy. I'm here." He said as he pulled me closer.

The warmth of his body and his strong arms wrapped around me always made me feel at home, but tonight that feeling was stronger than ever. I felt like I belonged there. I felt like I was finally back where I belonged after a long separation. For a moment I wondered if this feeling was springing from the love I held for him or something deeper.

Yes I loved him. I had for a long time, but I had always wondered if he felt the same. There were times when I could have sworn that he would never think of a girl like that, and then there were moments like this where I was almost positive that he loved me as I did him. To be honest though I was just glad that he was with me in this moment, even if it was only out of love for his friend. With this thought and Natsu's body heat slowly easing away the pain in my heart I was able to fall asleep again, a sleep that was filled with only thoughts of him.

* * *

**Natsu POV:**

I had snuck into Lucy's apartment again. Recently the need to be near her has grown stronger, but wasn't that natural. After all she was my mate. Yes, I'll admit it, Lucy Heartfilia is my, Natsu Dragneel's, mate. I love her; I just wish I knew if she felt the same way. Still, I need to feel her next to me.

I gently close her window and walk over to the bed. Happy was already sound asleep at the end of the bed. He has started to sleep here knowing that I will end up here too. I carefully crawl under the comforter and turn to face Lucy. God, she is beautiful when she sleeps. I softly put my arm around her waist and pull her closer to me. I make sure she is still asleep as I place my forehead on her's and breathe. She smells so familiar, like I have known her for a long time. Well I have known her for almost two years now, but there is something farther back that I associate with her smell. Something from so long ago that it isn't even a memory. Its more like a feeling than anything.

I push these thoughts to the back of my mind as I move my head away from her. I look at her one last time before I drift away into dream world. I just wish that her sleeping form could answer all of my questions involving her and these feelings.

_Blond hair is the first thing I saw. I inhaled the sweet scent of vanilla and sugar. I open my eyes slightly as the female in my arms pulls away. The girl standing in front of me is beautiful, the most beautiful woman my dream self has ever seen. Her blue eyes look at me lovingly as the wind blows her hair, granting me another whiff of her comforting smell. _

_"Leven", the girl says, "I want you to promise me something."_

_"Anything." I reply._

_She smiles as she says, "Then I want you to promise me that no matter how long it takes you, that you will always find me again. Even if it takes lifetimes to reach each other again, I want you to find me."_

_"Why would I need to find you if you are already here." I say. "I will never let you go."_

_ The thought of loosing her is almost to much to bear, even thought she is standing right in front of me I still fell the pain of her eminent absence. _

_She smiles sadly at me as she replies, "Yes, but a war will soon begin and I have a feeling that I might not be returning here. The thought of being alone, with out you, it hurts more than anything in the world. I want to know that if I ever have to face that reality that it won't be for long."_

_"Alright" I say, the pain returning to my chest as her words sink in. "I promise to find you again, even if it takes the rest of time."_

_ Her eyes fill with tears as I pull her into a kiss. Aria, I love you._

I wake to the sound of Lucy screaming. I fight my fatigue as I quickly search the room for what might be causing her fear. Having found nothing I turn to Lucy to ask what frightened her, but the sight of her tears stop me. I feel my heart shatter at the sight of her crying and in that moment I was willing to do absolutely anything to make her smile again.

"What happened Lucy?" I asked as I moved my hand to wipe away her tears.

"I just had a dream about someone important to me." She said as she placed her hand over mine.

I saw the plea for comfort in her eyes and was more than happy to comply. I moved my left hand to her waist and my right hand to her shoulders. I pulled her close feeling the over whelming need to comfort her. She ended up leaning against my chest with her head resting in the crook of my neck. It felt so perfect, so right as she slowly wound her arms around my body. I pulled her down with me so that we were lying on the bed. I knew that even with my body heat she might get chilled so I removed my hand from her waist and pulled the comforter up so that her shoulders were covered. I then placed my hand back on her waist and pulled her closer.

"Don't worry Lucy. I'm here." I said.

This feeling was surprisingly similar to my dream. It was a strange, but overwhelmingly joyous notion that she was here, but it faded as soon as it came. I looked down at Lucy and saw that she was already asleep. I smiled, glad that she had recovered from her sudden panic. As I myself drifted to sleep, I hoped that she wouldn't have to wake up in that way again.

_ I was back in the dream again. The forest surrounded the vanilla scented girl and I. Everything was the same as it was before except this time when the girl pulled away it wasn't that Aria girl looking at me. Instead Lucy looked back and me. Her chocolate brown eyes look at me full of joy and another emotion I can't quite place._

_"Natsu" she says with a smile. "You finally found me."_

* * *

**AN: Hey. I want to thank you for reading my story and just wanted to make sure that you saw that some parts of the story were italicized. These parts are dreams. If you can't see that difference in text let me know and I will change it do that it is more noticeable. Thanks again.**

**-Sarah**


	2. The Things That Haunt Us (part 2)

**Chapter 2: The Things That Haunt Us (part 2)**

**Natsu POV:**

My eyes open wide as I wake from the dream, but I quickly shield them from the blinding sunlight shining directly into my eyes. What was that dream? Why was Lucy in there instead of the Aria girl? Who is Aria any way? Do I even know an Aria? I think I would remember someone who smelled exactly like Lucy…. Lucy. I moved my hand around the place Lucy had been, but find it empty and cool.

I shoot up desperate to find Lucy. I jump out of the bed and run to the main room of the apartment not paying attention to my surroundings. I pause for a moment as the smell of something cooking makes it way to me. I calm down as I smell the familiar sent of vanilla and sugar mixed in with the food. I walk into the kitchen and find Lucy moving some bacon from the pan onto two plates. I smile and release a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Lucy is here. Lucy is safe. I feel an intense need to hold her in my arms again and before I know what's happening I am behind Lucy with my arms around her waist and my face in the crook of her neck. I take a deep breath and take in her intoxicating scent as I feel her stiffen slightly, surprised by my presence. After a moment she relaxes into me, turning slightly so she can see me in the corner of her eye. She smiles as puts down the pan she was holding and I release her, my mind being satisfied with the confirmation that this is indeed Lucy.

"Good morning." She says sweetly, handing me a plate of food and a lighter I hadn't seen.

"Morning." I say back picking up a piece of bacon and placing it in my mouth as I walk to her dining room table.

Happy is already sitting at the table eating a fish. I sit next to Happy and Lucy sits across from me. We all start eating in the comfortable silence. I soon finish my breakfast and turn my attention to Lucy. She is still eating her eggs as I open my mouth to ask her the question that has been bugging me since last night.

"Oi, Luce. What was that dream about last night? You seemed really shaken up." I said.

Lucy stiffened before she dropped her fork and looked up at me.

"I've told you about my older cousins right?" she inquired.

I nodded and replied, "Yep, but you haven't told me much. That still doesn't explain why you were crying and screaming."

The blond girl looked down so that her bangs were hiding her expression as she replied, "It was a dream about them." She paused before saying, "Look Natsu, if its all the same to you I would rather not talk about it."

I was taken aback by this change in usually cheerful Lucy, but nodded anyway. I had a feeling that this story was going to be told to me eventually and if Luce didn't want to talk about it now that was fine with me. All I cared about was that she was happy. I knew that this was hurting her and I would rather avoid anything that could cause her pain.

Lucy slowly got up and grabbed the plates and utensils we had used. She paced them in the sink, and went to her desk to grab her keys. It was only then that I noticed that she was already dressed for the day, so I slipped on my shoes and vest guessing that she was going to head to Fairy Tail. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Ready to go?", she asked.

"Yep all set." I said as I headed to the door.

I opened it and stepped into the hall fallowed quickly by Happy and Lucy. Lucy locked her door and we headed out for what I thought would be just another day in the Fairy Tail guild, but boy was I wrong.

* * *

**Lucy POV:**

I was sitting in Fairy Tail with Happy. It seemed to be like every other day in the guild. People were smiling and laughing, Cana was drinking insane amounts of beer at the bar with Mira, Natsu and Grey were fighting loudly, Erza was eating an entire cake, and Happy was trying to give Carla a fish. Everyone was the same, except me. The more magical power I felt around me, the more I thought about my older cousins.

We had always been more like siblings than cousins so we always addressed each other as such. I remember how hard the transition was between having three siblings to having none. I understood exactly what Mira and Elfman had gone through when they thought Lisana had died, but they got a miracle. Lisana had actually been alive and came back to them. There was no such chance for me. My family was gone and there was nothing I could do about it.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the unnatural hush that came over Fairy Tail. I saw that everyone was looking towards the front doors with a mix of shock, horror, and anger on their faces. I turned and immediately recognized Mest, or Doranbolt, and Lahar from the Magic Council. Behind them stood an entire platoon of soldiers. I stood up and took a few steps so that I was standing with the rest of my team. I had always been one to distrust the Magic Council, they had never had the best history of doing the right thing, but I had begun to actually despise them when they arrested Jellal after he had done so much to help us when fighting Oración Seis.

Lahar stepped forward and said, "Lucy Heartfilia."

I froze as everyone turned to look at me. Master and the recently returned Gildarts came out of the Master's office and came to stand next to me. I had a feeling Master knew why they were here and had called Gildarts back to help him. Lahar bowed respectfully upon seeing Master standing next to me and continued to walk towards us.

Lahar got down on one knee and bowed his head as he said; "The Magic Council seeks your aid and that of Fairy Tail in dealing with a dark mage." At this point he paused and looked up at me. "We believe that this man is connected to that incident Lady Lucy."

I froze for a moment to allow what he just said to sink in. I could be that much closer to finding him and having my revenge. I could be that much closer to giving their souls peace. I could not let this opportunity pass me by. I looked down to an expectant Master Makarov and nodded my head. He smiled slightly as he turned to face the waiting Lahar.

"What exactly do you want us to do?" He said.


	3. Links and Chains

**Chapter 3: Links and Chains**

**Natsu POV:**

After the unwelcomed visit of the council, Master had asked everyone in Fairy Tail to put his or her lives on hold. He explained to us that something bad was happening in the magic world and the council was growing uneasy. We all agreed and were going to prepare to travel. We were told to pack for a week so we could track down a dark mage.

Before the council members left, they had told us about the mission they wanted us on. It was about a dark guild called Shadow Blade. I noticed that at the mention of the dark guild Lucy tensed. She had been on edge quite a bit lately and it had bothered me even before the council made it more complicated. Lahar had directly requested her help and acted so formal around her, not to mention he said something about this guild being related to her past. He had said it very quietly, even I had a hard time hearing it with my enhanced hearing and I was standing right next to them. Something was off, and I was going to ask Lucy about it.

After deciding this I turned my attention back to the Master. It had been decided that those who had been involved in the S-class test on Tenrou Island, plus Romeo, were to go on this quest. We couldn't leave Fairy Tail unattended, but we also needed as many powerful wizards on our side as possible and Romeo had begged Master to let him go. Master dismissed us and everyone was saying their goodbyes and heading out.

Lucy, Happy, and I started walking towards her house in silence. I looked over at Lucy and couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked when the wind blew. Her hair swayed in the breeze and the soft light of the sunset shone one her. With each step she took, another wave of her sent hit me. It was calming and I barley realized that we were already at her apartment. We said goodbye and Happy and I continued to walk to our house.

"Natsu?" Happy said.

"What's up little buddy?" I said as I looked up at him.

"Why does Lucy seem so sad lately?" He inquired with a sad look on his face.

I sighted and said, "I would like to know that too.".

We walked the rest of the way in a depressed silence. Lucy was very important to Happy and I had told him the moment I figured out she was my mate. She was a big part of our lives and it hurt not knowing how to help her. I thought for a moment as I stood in front of my door. I would find out what was going on with Lucy and I was going to do it tonight.

I looked up at Happy and said, "Hey, what do you think of crashing at Lucy's tonight?"

Happy looked at me and smirked, "Don't we end up sleeping there anyway?"

"Yep, but we might as well eat with her too." I said shrugging as I opened the door.

Happy giggled and said, "Aye sir!"

* * *

**Lucy POV:**

I was sitting on my bed giving Natsu the evil eye. He had broken into my home (again) and decided that he was going to eat everything in my kitchen. Then after he had devoured my pantry, he thought it would be a good idea to interrogate me about the whole council thing. Needless to say, I was PISSED!

Natsu was currently sitting on the ground pleading with me to let him stay the night, and unfortunately I was cracking. I knew I couldn't stay mad at him for long and I was currently forcing myself to hold on to even a pinch of anger. I sighed and looked into his eyes. Man, I love this guy… wait… WHAT! I quickly shook my head and looked away from him blushing profusely. Now was definitely not the time to be thinking that, not to mention I was blushing. Oh, how I hope he doesn't notice. In order to clam down, or at least attempt to, I gave in.

"Ok," I said, "you can stay."

Natsu's face immediately brightened up and he and Happy started dancing around the room cheering. I sighed and shook my head. Sometimes its hard to believe I fell in love with him. Then again, my life will never be boring if he's around. I laughed to myself as I crawled under the covers having put on my silk pajamas long ago. Natsu paused his happy dancing long enough to notice. He had an evil smirk on his face and I knew what was coming next.

Natsu lunged at the bed and nearly landed on top of me. I managed to move out of the way enough so that I wasn't crushed. As soon as he recovered he pushed himself onto his forearms and looked at me pouting. I rolled my eyes.

"Just go to sleep already." I said as I rolled on my side facing away from Natsu. "Don't forget we have an early morning tomorrow."

"Fine." Natsu said with a little bit of a pout in his voice.

Natsu flopped down, his back touching mine as he slid under the covers. I didn't want him in my bed but I was too tired to have another fight with him tonight. It was almost 11 and we had to be at the station by 7 o'clock tomorrow morning to catch the train. I sighed as Happy curled up next to our feet and I slowly drifted to sleep.

_The moon illuminated the man as his tendrils of dark magic wove around him. He smiled evilly as his glowing red eyes looked at me. His face was splattered with blood, which contrasted with his pale white skin. My brother stood in front of me lifting his arm as if to protect me, which was completely unnecessary seeing as the magic bubble out older sister had made around me was still intact. _

_ Blood streamed down my back from the gashes that has been infected upon me earlier, but I didn't care. The flow of my tears was already more noticeable and the pain in my heart greatly overpowered that of the wounds. _

_"Brother?" I said in a shaky voice. _

_"Don't worry Lucy. It will be ok." He replied smiling at me._

_I nodded my head as the man in front of us began to speak drawing our attention back to him. _

_"How touching, even with all this pain you can find some happiness." He laughed as he said, "Don't worry I will destroy the happiness soon enough."_

_"Over my dead body!" Yelled my brother as he charged ahead._

_He made it two steps before the man lifted his arm. Shadow magic soon came shooting towards my brother and stabbed him. He turned to me as he fell to the ground. He mouthed, "We love you Lucy. Be strong for us". His body hit the ground and the brightness in his eyes faded._

_"Edmond!" I screamed._

_The man only laughed again as he said, "Three down one to go."_

_ I started shacking as the magic came flooding into me as my brother's soul left his body. I screamed as a wave of immeasurable power flowed from my body. The man stopped his laughing long enough for his eyes to widen. He screamed as he disappeared into darkness of his shadows, the magic just barley missing him. "I will destroy your happiness." echoed in my head as I caught a glimpse of the destruction I had causes before passing out. _

I woke to Natsu shaking me awake. There were tears streaming down his face and a sense of desperation in his eyes. I soon realized I was screaming and tears were rolling down my own face in streams. I stopped screaming and a flood of relief rushed over Natsu's features. He quickly pulled me close to him as he hugged me tightly. I could feel him shaking and felt Happy hug my side, his tears staining my nightshirt.

"Thank God. Thank God!" Natsu repeated over and over again as I cried into his chest.

The three of us stayed like that for a few minutes before I pulled back a little bit and asked, "How long were you trying to wake me up?"

Natsu pulled back as well and started to wipe his face as Happy took the opportunity to throw himself at my chest still crying. He finally replied, "About 15 minutes. I thought you were dying you were screaming so loud and then I couldn't wake you up…" Natsu paused and took a deep breath. "Lucy this has gone on long enough." He said looking into my eyes, "You need to tell me what has come over you. You have been waking up from nightmares crying for three weeks now and it just keeps getting worse."

I looked away and my eyes fell on the alarm clock. It was five in the morning and we had some time before we needed to get ready to leave.

I sighed and said, "All right."

I spent the next hour telling Natsu my story and crying my eyes out. He just held me as I spoke and let me cry into his chest. I told him about how Jellal was my second cousin, but we were more like siblings that anything else. Natsu was quite surprised, but didn't say anything negative about it. I also told him about my relationship with the dragons and was shocked to find that he actually remembered my older brother, Peter. We spent a good amount of time sharing stories about him and laughing. The mood gradually became more cheerful and soon we were at the train station acting like nothing had ever happened.

Once we boarded the train the groans Natsu and that of the other dragon slayers, besides Wendy, could be heard throughout the car we took over. Natsu was leaning against me the whole time we were on our way to the town and I couldn't help but feel like I had done the right thing in telling Natsu the whole truth. It made me feel better knowing someone besides Master and Guildarts knew about my family.

The train stopping at our destination soon interrupted my thoughts and the Fairy Tail member all flowed out of the car. We made quite the spectacle with our usual loud behavior and the large group we were in. It was almost comical how we drew such a crowd. Master lead us into the forest on the outskirts of town were we had been told the dark mage had a hideout. Crime Sorcière greeted us at the edge of the forest and after a short discussion with master about how they were also tracking this dark mage they joined our ranks.

I signaled for Jellal to join me at the back of the group. He hated to leave Erza's side knowing exactly how dangerous this mage was but he complied.

"What's wrong Lucy?" he said as we separated ourselves from the group a little bit.

I decided to just come clean with my older brother and said, "I told Natsu."

Jellal stopped walking for a moment and the caught up with me.

"You did what?" He whisper-yelled.

"I told Natsu everything. About you Jellal-nii and the Elementailia, he knows everything now." I said, daring my older brother to say anything.

He sighed and said, "Why?"

I looked up at him, slightly surprised by his out of character curiosity. "Because I've been having dreams about them. I kept on waking up crying and Natsu always seemed to be there when I wake up, and this morning I…"

I was cut off by Jellal screaming, "What! He was in your bedroom?!"

Thankfully we were far enough away from everyone that his little outburst wasn't heard by anyone. I saw the evil aura coming off him in waves and quickly said, "Jellal its fine he's my partne..."

"I know your relationship," Jellal said cutting me off again. "but that doesn't mean that I'm ok with him being in your bedroom when you wake up." His eyes widened for a second before he grabbed my left hand and inspected my ring finger. After he found nothing he sighed and said, "Thank God he hasn't claimed you."

My eyes grew wide as well and I blushed as I said, "Jellal-nii, Natsu and I aren't like that."

He smirked a little and replied, "But you want to be."

"W-what?" I said stuttering.

Jellal laughed and said, "Oh come on Lucy, its written all over your face."

My anger and embracement flared as I screamed, "I'm going to kill you, Jellal."

He laughed and started running through the group of Fairy Tail mages with me close on his heals. "Get back here you poor excuse for an older brother!" I screamed.

"Oh, please." Jellal scoffed still running around in zigzags. "You couldn't find anyone else who would be willing to but up with a younger sister like you."

By now the entire group was watching us. Some of them were laughing while others, like Erza, were staring with open mouths upon hearing about our relationship. We were suddenly pinned under a giant fist and I glared at Jellal who was laughing hysterically despite being pined himself.

"Stop this you brats." Master said as he released us attempting to stop his own laugher when Jellal and I stuck our tongues out at each other.

"Your s-si-siblings?" Erza said stuttering.

"Well not exactly." Jellal said looking at her lovingly.

I giggled and made a mental note to tease him about his little crush latter as I said, "We are actually second cousins but we were always more like siblings than cousins. Isn't that right Jell-O-nii?" I said mockingly.

Jellal turned to me with a look I knew all too well, "That's right Lulu."

I grumbled and Jellal laughed. Oh how I hate that nickname. Everyone was a little weirded out by the revelation and most people were rather silent as we continued walking. Then there was Erza who was asking Jellal and I all these questions about our childhood. Once she finally had her attention place solely on Jellal I snuck away. As he saw me drifting slowly away from the couple Jellal glared at whom I was moving towards. I was thankful that he was soon distracted by another barrage of questions from Erza.

As I fell in step with Natsu I saw his face lift a little. He smiled at me and opened his mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted by a call from Master.

"Were here." He said after we had all gathered in a semi circle around him.

We had finally reached our destination. It was time to get serious.


	4. So it begins

**Chapter 4: So it begins**

**Natsu POV:**

I had made a huge mistake! Lucy was looking down at me with a look on her face that would make even Erza cry! I had gotten hungry once I got to Lucy's place and while she was taking a bath I might have accidentally eaten everything in her kitchen. Then once she got out of the bath I acted on my plan to find out what was going on with her. Maybe that was not the best idea considering Lucy had kicked my ass and had threatened to kick me out. Which leads me to my current predicament (and yes I did just use a big word. Being around Lucy, the walking talking dictionary, has made me start using big words.).

I was sitting on the ground pleading with her to let me stay the night. After about 5 minutes of my begging and pleading (not that I would ever do that) Lucy sighed and looked into my eyes. I thought I could see that slightest blush on her cheeks as she quickly shook her head and looked away from me. My suspicion was confirmed when I saw her cheek turn scarlet. She is so cute when… No, bad Natsu! If I start thinking those things I might end up saying them. That would be terrible, but I wonder how she would react. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Lucy sigh.

"Ok," she said, "you can stay."

I smiled brightly as I grabbed a confused Happy and started dancing around the room cheering. Happy soon started joining in and the cheers grew louder. I stopped when I suddenly heard laughter. I turned around and saw Lucy crawl under the covers and I realized that now was a perfect time for a Natsu sneak attach. I kicked off my sandals as I jumped nearly hitting my target, who dodged at the last minute. As soon as I recovered from my jump I pushed myself up onto my forearms and looked at Lucy pouting. She rolled my eyes.

"Just go to sleep already." She said as she rolled on her side facing away from me. "Don't forget we have an early morning tomorrow."

"Fine." I said a little sadly, but I knew she was right.

I flopped down ensuring that my back was touching Lucy's as I slid under the covers. It was almost 11 and I was starting to get sleepy. Lucy sighed behind me as Happy curled up next to our feet. I soon heard the even sound of her breathing and slowly turned around to face her. I pushed myself up onto my elbow so that I could see her face. The moon shone softly on her features making her look even more beautiful. I smiled and brushed a piece of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear.

"I love you." I said softly as I kissed her temple.

I slowly leaned back down draping one arm around Lucy's waist. I folded my other arm so that my head was resting on it and slowly fell asleep.

_ I was standing in a dark field lying on the ground. Storm clouds covered the sky and I could feel the occasional rain drop on my exposed skin, as I smelled that familiar sent near me. I slowly and painfully pushed myself off the ground so I was kneeling down. I suddenly heard a scream and looked in the direction it was coming from. There I saw four people fighting off a man with dark hair. I didn't even bother noticing any more detail once I saw bright blond hair that was now caked with blood and dirt._

_ I noticed a couple of blurs moving behind her, but my eyes were locked on that golden hair. The blond suddenly dashed forward and hand with a drill shaped air current moving around it. Her arm made a quick movement and I smelled blood, but it wasn't just that of the man with black hair. The sent of her blood filled my nose and my vision turned red. He hurt her. She was bleeding. _

_I saw a glint of metal covered in black magic being pulled from her body as I screamed, "Aria!"_

_ The scream was filled with more pain, anguish, and anger than I thought could ever be portrayed. I soon felt my body rush over to her falling form. Before I knew it her limp body was cradled in my arms. Tears were streaming down my face and onto hers. She opened her dazzling blue eyes slowly and everything else in the world seemed to vanish. It was only the two of us. _

_"Leven." She whispered as she raised a shaky hand to my cheek. _

_ She smiled and then her face went blank as her hand feel back down. I shook as I looked at her pale face. The tears blurred my vision as the rest of the world came back into existence. I hear the sound of fighting near by, but I didn't care. I let out a mournful roar as I faced the sky, allowing the now pouring rain to mix with my tears. More and more screams filled the air as I looked at the scene in front of me, my vision focusing on the black haired man. He was the one. He took her from me. Anger filled me as I lovingly laid her body on the ground. _

_"Don't worry Aria. I'll be there soon." I said as I stepped over her body._

_I ran forward, an agonized and determined scream erupting from my mouth._

I woke up to screams, Lucy's and mine. Happy to jumped and looked wide-eyed at me. I shut my mouth and quickly turned to Lucy who was still screaming with tears streaming down her distressed face. No, no, no. This can't be happening again. I turned so that I was leaning over Lucy and grabbed her shoulders. I shook her trying in vain the wake her up.

"Shit. Luce wake up!" I said as desperation filled my voice.

After about 15, which seemed like an eternity, of my failed attempt to wake Lucy, she finally opened her eyes. She quickly stopped screaming and I noticed I was crying, but I didn't care. A flood of relief rushed over me and I pulled Lucy close to me, hugging her tightly. I knew I was shaking and felt Happy rush into Lucy's side.

"Thank God. Thank God!" I chanted as she cried into my chest.

The three of us stayed like that for a few minutes before she pulled back a little bit and asked, "How long were you trying to wake me up?"

I hesitantly pulled back as well and started to wipe my face as Happy took the opportunity to throw himself at Lucy's chest still crying. I finally found my voice and replied, "About 15 minutes. I thought you were dying you were screaming so loud and then I couldn't wake you up…" I paused and took a deep breath. "Lucy this has gone on long enough." I said looking into her brown eyes, "You need to tell me what has come over you. You have been waking up from nightmares crying for three weeks now and it just keeps getting worse."

She looked away from me and paused. Lucy sighed and said, "All right."

She spent the next hour telling me her (and her family's) story and crying. I just held her, that's all I could do as she spoke. Her explanations would come in burst and sometimes she couldn't do anything but cry into my chest. She told me about how Jellal was her second cousin, but they were more like siblings that anything else. I was shocked that they could be related but quickly thought of the two and saw the possible resemblances. What shocked me the most about her story was her connection to the dragons. Then she told me about Peter being her older brother. That was why I was reminded of him sometimes when I was with Lucy. We spent a good amount of time sharing stories about him and laughing. The mood gradually became more cheerful and soon we were at the train station acting like nothing had ever happened.

Once we boarded the train the groans of the other dragon slayers and I, besides Wendy, could be heard throughout the car we took over. I was leaning against Lucy the whole time felling my motion sickness lessen the closer I was to her. Lucy was like troia but not as effective. I started to wonder if her sent and presence had always had this effect on me. When the train finally stopped at our destination I felt immediately revived and joined the other Fairy Tail members as they made their way out of the car. We drew a crowd as Master lead us out of the train station and into the forest on the outskirts of town were we had been told the dark mage had a hideout. Crime Sorcière greeted us at the edge of the forest and after a short discussion with master about how they were also tracking this dark mage they joined our ranks.

I saw Lucy mover her hand form the corner of my eye as she left my side and moved farther behind the rest of the group. I soon saw Jellal join her and concluded that they were going to talk about the current situation. I was planning on joining them but I distracted by Erza and the Ice Princess.

"Hey Flame Face," Gray said as he nudged me with his elbow. "did you find out what is going on from Lucy?"

"No, not really." I said, after all I couldn't very well tell them what I had learned. It was Lucy's story to tell not mine.

"Hump. I was hopping that you would be able to find out, seeing as you and Lucy are best friends." Erza added.

I shrugged and continued walking. My mind slowly turned from the mission at hand to what Jellal and Lucy were doing. I trusted that Jellal wouldn't do anything bad to her seeing he was her older brother and all, but I couldn't help but worry. Sure this Jellal was nice enough, but I still didn't trust him completely. Tough the more time we spent with him and the other member of Crime Sorcière, Meredy, the more all of us began to trust them. I was still aware of his actions and swore that if he did anything to make Erza cry again, now Lucy as well, I would pay him back tenfold. I was thrust back into reality by a scream.

"I'm going to kill you, Jellal." Lucy yelled as she ran after Jellal. "Get back here you poor excuse for an older brother!"

"Oh, please." Jellal scoffed still running around in zigzags. "You couldn't find anyone else who would be willing to put up with a younger sister like you."

After the momentary shock I saw how much fun the two were having and couldn't help but laugh. Erza, Gray, and the majority of the other guild members were staring with open mouths at the two. Upon seeing their shocked faces I started laughing harder. I nearly missed Gramps pining Lucy and Jellal under a giant fist. Jellal was laughing and Lucy was glaring at him, but I could see the joy in her eyes.

"Stop this you brats." Master said as he released them and attempted to stop his own laugher when Jellal and Lucy stuck their tongues out at each other.

"Your s-si-siblings?" Erza stuttered.

"Well not exactly." Jellal said looking lovingly at Erza.

"We are actually second cousins but we were always more like siblings than cousins. Isn't that right Jell-O-nii?" Lucy said in a teasing manner.

Jellal turned to Lucy with a sneaky look in his eye, "That's right Lulu."

Lucy grumbled and Jellal laughed. I chuckled and looked around at everyone else. They all seemed a little freaked out by their newfound knowledge and most people were rather silent as we continued walking. Erza was one of the exceptions and started asking Jellal and Lucy a ton of questions. Once she finally had her attention place solely on Jellal, Lucy snuck away. I saw Jellal glare as he saw Lucy moving towards me. Erza soon distracted him, but I couldn't help but wonder why Jellal seemed so unhappy with the fact the Lucy and I were walking together. Lucy fell in step with me and I smiled at her. I was about to ask Lucy why Jellal didn't seem to like me when I was interrupted by a call from Master.

"Were here." He said after we had all gathered in a semi circle around him. "Alright we need a plan." He paused from dramatic effect, still looking serious. "Anyone got any ideas." Gramps said with a goofy grin on his face.

Everyone was shaking their head at the Master's antics but couldn't help but smile. That was the great thing about Fairy Tail. Even in the worst situations we could almost always manage to smile. After a little while it was decided that we would attach in two fronts. The first group consisted of Lucy, Jellal, Erza, Gray, Juvia, Gajeel, Levy, Laxus, Gramps, Guildarts, and I. We would be the ones who charge in the front and start fighting the dark mage. Next came the second front made up of Meredy, Wendy, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, Elfman, Lisana, Mira, Cana, Happy, Carla, Pantherlily, and Romeo. They would surround the building and Freed would surround the building with runes ensuring that the dark mage couldn't get out. After this was finished they would destroy the building and join the fight.

"Does everyone understand?" Gramps said as he eyed the group around him.

"Aye sir!" everyone replied.

"Alright. Lets move." Replied Gramps as he nodded his head.

We split up into our groups and silently made our ways to the large clearing nearby. In the center of the clearing was a warehouse looking building that had a dark aura surrounding it. There seemed to be tendrils of dark magic oozing from every inch of the place. I felt Lucy tense next to me and instinctively grabbed her hand. She looked at me a little shocked. I only smiled back at her, silently saying 'I'm here Luce. There's no need to worry.' She squeezed my hand letting me know she got the message. She released my hand as we turned back to our target, but left our hands brushing against each other. Every slight move allowed for our skin to touch releasing a wave of reassurance. I smiled slightly before seeing Gramps move his hand signaling for us to move again.

We were now standing in the forest directly in front of the building ready to attack. We all looked forward to where Gramps was standing. He slowly raised his hand half way and then thrust it down, his flat palm pointing at the building. We all charged forward. I made sure to stay close to Lucy feeling the immense magic power coming from the place. The power only intensified as Jellal and Gajeel broke down the door.

The first thing I saw as I entered the room was a tall well built man with white blond hair standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He wore a smirk that didn't sit well with me and all I could see in his silver eyes was a dark amusement.

"Grand Chariot!" Jellal yelled.

"Iron Dragon's Kunai!" Shouted Gajeel.

"Lightning Storm!" Screamed Laxus.

The man barley lifted a hand as Jellal, Gajeel, and Laxus threw their magic at him. Next up was a pissed off Erza who had requipped into her Black Wing Armor. The man caught her sword in his shadow-covered hand and smiled slightly at her shock before throwing her into a charging Gray. Juvia, who had been right next to Gray, quickly changed into water to avoid being hit by Erza and shot her newly reformed body off the ground.

"Water Slicer" Juvia yelled was her attach moved towards the man.

The man smirked and lifted his flat hand just as the Water Slicer was about to hit him. "Shadow Slash." He said.

Juvia's eyes went wide as the man's magic passed through her attack. Gray, who had managed the squirm half way out from under Erza, saw what was about to happen and screamed out for Juvia. It was too late for Juvia to move thought, and judging from the way his magic sliced through the water, changing into her water body would do nothing to protect her. Juvia managed to mover her arms to attempt to protect her body as the attack hit her in mid air. Juvia's scream echoed through the building. We all froze in shock. Juvia's unconscious body flew towards the wall and Lucy, thinking quickly, summoned Aries and had her catch Juvia in a cushion of wool. In an instant Gray was at Juvia's side and Gramps and Guildarts were distracting our opponent. It didn't last long, and soon the two most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail had been pushed back. Taking a quick look around the room I saw that Levy was helping Laxus and Gajeel out from the remains of the wall they had been pushed into, Jellal helping a bruised Erza off the floor, and a desperate looking Gray was shaking Juvia as he tried to wake her up. Things were not looking good.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lucy grab her Fleuve D'étoiles and charge the man. I yelled for her to stop as I reached out to grab her hand, but she slipped past me and was summoning Loke. I was next to her in an instant. Loke and I struck the man as Lucy, by some unknown strength, managed to hold him still. After landing a few blows the man released some strange ray of black magic at Lucy. It pushed her back and made her crash into a wall, allowing for him to have free movement again. Loke and I still attacked him, landing as many blows as we could, and an enraged Gray soon joined the fray. One by one the other members of Fairy Tail started joining in and we appeared to be making progress.

Next thing I knew the building around us was shattered and we were in the middle of the clearing. Our other friends were just about to join our fight when a wave of dark magic threw all of us against the near by trees. I looked up as I heard laughter coming from the man. It grew louder as more of my comrades started to stand up. He lifted one of his hands to cover his eyes, as his laughing grew more hysterical.

"Oh Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. I expected so much more from you, after all you managed to give our leader quite the challenge all those years ago." The man said as he uncovered his eyes to glare at Lucy. "If this is what you call an army, them I hope you don't intend to win this war. If I were you, I would give up while you still have the option and let me kill you right here. Just think, after your dead you can see those oh so precious siblings of yours. What were their names again? Pete…"

The man was suddenly cut off by a punch to the face from an enraged Lucy. I have never seen Lucy so angry, none of us had. So we just stood there watching her land punch after punch as she screamed,

"Keep their names out of your filthy mouth." Lucy yelled before the man hit her with a wave of magic.

Suddenly an image of my dream shot through my mind. The falling girl changed from Lucy to Aria and back again.

"No… Lucy!" I yelled as I struggled to reach her.

I somehow managed to make it in tame to catch her before she hit the ground. She was beaten and bruised but still conscious. I held her tight as we faced our advancing opponent. Before we knew what was happening, Erza and Gray were standing in front of us.

"I don't know what connection you have to Lucy, but if you are trying to hurt her then you will have to go through us first." Erza said.

"Oh, I see you haven't told them." The man said. Lucy flinched as the man smirked and continued. "Then why don't I show them?"

Next thing I knew my vision went black before I found myself watching a small Lucy. Soon the smell of blood filed my noes and I recognized it as Lucy's. I looked down and saw that she was covered in blood from deep gashes on her back. Just the site of Lucy's blood was enough to break my heart and fill me with rage. I soon heard footsteps and wondered if it was those people who had done this to Lucy, my blood boiled at the thought of them hurting her.

"Lucy" called a female voice.

"Oh no. Guys over here." said a male voice.

I recognized Peter's peachy-orange hair and charcoal eyes instantly as he came up to the bars that separated the room from a dark passage way. He grabbed the bars and soon they turned a bright red as he melted them. No sooner had he melted the bars was he joined by a girl with long brown hair and bright green eyes. She looked a year or two younger than Peter. A boy with short navy blue hair and bright blue eyes joined her. He looked no older than 13. When the girl saw the state Lucy was in she began silently sobbing. The young boy had tears flowing down his cheek as he joined Peter at Lucy's side. The girl soon came up on Lucy's other side.

"G-gu-guys?" a weakened Lucy said.

"How could they do this to a child." The girl said.

"Their monsters. The lot of them." Peter added as he clenched his fist tight. "We need to get out of here now. Don't worry Luce, everything is going to be ok."

The other two nodded as Peter picked up Lucy. They started to move silently and quickly down the darkened hallway. They soon made their way out of the stone building and into a small forest clearing. They made it about halfway to the forest when a wall of dark magic appeared in front of them. All of them turned their attention to the direction the magic had come from.

"Shit." Peter said as he put Lucy down. "Ophelia." he said as her continued to stare down the man.

"Already on it." Ophelia said as she made a magic bubble around Lucy.

"Sister." Lucy said.

Ophelia turned and smiled at Lucy "Every thing will be fine."

Lucy only nodded slightly as she slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position. Peter charged the enemy, but it was to late. I watched in horror as a shadow beam passed right through him. You could see the slight red glow around his body as it hit the ground with a dull thud. The glow then surrounded Ophelia as she unleashed flame-covered vines with tears in her eyes. Lucy and the other boy were also crying as they watched their older sister fight the man.

After a few attacks landed on the man he created a shadow sword. He started to fight Ophelia who had requipped into Earth Empress armor. The armor was made of plates that looked like leaves and had glowing green crystals making an outline of the breastplate and holding the armor together. The sword she help had a hilt made of the same crystal with a rose growing out of the end and a metal blade that looked like it could cut through anything. The man smirked as he countered a sweep of her sword. With quick moves he created an opening for himself and stabbed her clean through. The glow appeared again, first the red then a bright green one, and reappeared around the boy in front of Lucy.

The moon illuminated the man as his tendrils of dark magic wove around him like a dog that danced at its master's feet. He smiled evilly as his glowing red eyes looked to the remaining two siblings. His face was splattered with blood from the two he had already killed, which contrasted with his pale white skin. The boy stood in front of Lucy lifting his arm as if to protect her not only from the man facing them, but also from the sight of their dead siblings.

"Brother?" Lucy said in a shaky voice.

"Don't worry Lucy. It will be ok." The boy replied smiling her.

She nodded her head as the man in front of them began to speak drawing their attention back to him.

"How touching, even with all this pain you can find some happiness." He laughed as he said, "Don't worry I will destroy that happiness soon enough."

"Over my dead body!" Yelled the boy as he charged ahead.

He made it two steps before the man lifted his arm. Shadow magic soon came shooting towards the boy and stabbed him. He turned to Lucy as he fell to the ground. He mouthed, "We love you Lucy. Be strong for us". His body hit the ground and the brightness in his eyes faded. The glow came again, this time joined by a dark blue glow.

"Edmond!" Lucy screamed.

The man only laughed again as he said, "Three down one to go."

Luce started shaking as the strange glows surrounded her one by one. She screamed as a wave of magic flowed from her body. The man stopped his laughing long enough for his eyes to widen. He screamed as he disappeared into darkness of his shadows, the magic just barley missing him. "I will destroy your happiness." echoed in the clearing as the dust settled and I caught a glimpse of the destruction Lucy caused. I was pulled out of the vision by Lucy crying into my chest. I felt tears of my own flow down my face as I gripped Lucy tighter. Even though she had told me the whole story already it was ten times worse to see it myself.

"My, my, my. That's quite a reaction. Maybe I should repeat that little incident only this time it won't be you family, it will be your guild." The man said with a sinister grin on his face.

I felt Lucy's hold on my shirt tighten and her body stiffen before she began to shake. Her magic power increased exponentially.

"Nooo!" Lucy screamed as a bright light surrounded her blinding me.

When the light finally faded, I looked to see the man we had just faced frozen in a lacrima like crystal. When I looked down at Lucy she was barley awake. My confusion was only enhanced when rune knights from the Magic Council showed up. They quickly dragged away the man and the two members of Crime Sorcière who had joined our group. Lucy was now more aware of what was going on and was clutching my shirt more loosely than before. I looked down to see if she had any idea what was going on, but she looked just as shocked as I felt. What the heck is going on?!

* * *

**Lucy POV:**

I was still in shock. The rest of Fairy Tail and I had been dragged back to Era after the fight. I am currently being escorted by a group of Rune Knights to a meeting room. The council members had requested that I come and explain the situation. I had been hesitant at first, but then I realized that if I explained the situation I stood a chance of getting Jellal, maybe Meredy as well, freed. So here I was walking down the corridor flanked by guards.

We soon came to a large ornately decorated set of doors. On either end of the doorway stood a guard. As the saw us they quickly made their way to the large metal handles and pulled. After a little strain the doors were open wide and I was face to face with the members of the newly reformed council.

"I see you have decided to, finally, grace us with your presence Lady Lucy." Said an old man with long gray hair and an impressive beard.

"Yes, I finally have the opportunity to meet the people who run the magic world in my absence." I said as the man who spoke previously, I assume he is the head of the council, and I had a stare down.

"I am very glad we, and not you, govern the magical world seeing as you have been caught in the company of an escaped convict and a former member of a dark guild. Not to mention that it was no ordinary convict, it was the man who nearly destroyed the magic council." The man said as anger filled his being.

"I am well aware of who he is, and I can assure you that he is repentant and making up for his crimes in a way that he could not do stuck in a prison cell." I said with an equal amount of anger and force.

"We are aware of the actions of that little group of his, but that does not excuse what he did when he betrayed the council." The man replied.

"I am not saying that he is innocent. I am saying that given the circumstances, he is redeeming himself in a far better way that rotting in a cell." I countered. "My brother is well aware of his duty, not only to the council, to make amends. He also has his duty to me, his younger sister and ruler, to drive his actions."

For a moment the shell shocked man was silent, but he soon regained his bearings and fired back. "Regardless of his relation to you, he has committed a crime. One for which he…"

I quickly interrupted the man. "Yes, but as a member of my clan he is to be tried by either the clan elder or I. Seeing as I am the greater power and deeply involved in his case, not only as his sister but also as a victim and witness to his crimes, I alone hold the right to decide his punishment. Though this is the case, I gave the magic council the ability to decide his punishment. Of coarse it was decided that I will be the one to decide the appropriateness of the punishment and decide the length of time for which he serves it, but your predecessors have already used that right in an improper way. So, I am taking it away."

"You don't have the right…" The old man began.

"Oh, but I do and I intend to use it. I have also decided that because of you inappropriate actions in the past and her willingness to repent for her sins, the girl's punishment will also be mine to decide." I finished.

The man stared me down as the rest of the council watch with shocked faces until he finally spit out the word as if it was a curse. "Fine"

I smiled and said, "Thank you sir. Now that the matter is settled, I expect you to forgive them of all wrong doings should they join Fairy Tail."

"What?" The old man said as he shot out of his seat. "Why would I allow them to go free, not to mention join an official guild?"

I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Because I ordered it. Also, if you want any of the information I have or my help in stopping this threat we have come across you will listen to me."

The man quietly sat down and I smirked. Sometimes having this power over the council was very handy. Though I couldn't use it often and if they tried to fight it I wouldn't be able to do much to make them listen, but it worked. I was getting what I wanted and all it took was a little push.

"Alright then." I said as I started to explain the events that had transpired in the past few days. "First off, I have determined that the dark mage you reported having problems with was indeed connected to the dark guild Shadow Blade. I also have confirmed that the man who is leading them is the same man from almost 16 years ago. There might be some merit to the idea that with Zeref's revival he could also be involved with the organization, but that is still unclear. I also believe that the dark guild may have their sights set on more than just killing me."

"What else do you think they want?" Asked a middle-aged woman who was dressed in modified samurai armor.

I sighed and said, "I think they want to destroy the light guilds."

* * *

**Hey everyone. Sorry for the long wait. I have been supper busy with school and haven't had a chance to write very much, but I made it an extra long chapter (5,700 words :D)! I hope you can forgive me. I will try to update as soon as I can but it might take me a while. Thanks for reading and please comment if you have anything to say. Thanks again. **

**-Sarah**


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